Communication by technical means between a specific, finite number of subscribers is referred to as a communication session. A collaborative communication session is the process of communicating using a plurality of communication terminals (also referred to for short in the following text as terminals) for a single one of the communication ends. In other words, at least one of the communication ends (that is to say one of the subscribers) uses a plurality of terminals in order to communicate with at least one other communication end. A terminal at one communication end controls the collaborative session, for example by defining which communication media (for example audio, video, text, etc.) should be transmitted to which terminals in the collaborative session, and it therefore intrinsically has a so-called control role.
In order to allow the functions of controlling terminals in a collaborative communication session precisely for that controlling terminal (and in particular not to allow them for the non-controlling terminals), it is necessary to be able to allocate (or in other words: assign) the control role for one terminal in the communication system.
It is known from the document “3GPP Technical Specification TS23.237, V9.2.0, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Service Continuity; Stage 2” that collaborative communication sessions (collaborative sessions) can be carried out using a communication system which is designed on the basis of the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) of the 3GPP mobile radio standard.
In collaborative communication sessions in the IMS, one user with a plurality of terminals is registered with the IMS. The collaborative session is set up by one of the terminals requesting the IMS to transfer one of its communication media to another terminal of the user. This means that, after the media transfer, the medium is no longer received by that communication terminal but by the other communication terminal. In this case, the terminal requesting this media transfer is assigned the control role for the collaborative session.
Only one holder of the control role can subsequently control the collaborative session and, for example, carry out further media transfers. In the case of IMS collaborative communication sessions, the control role is always assigned to that terminal which requests the first media transfer.
It would be desirable to allow a collaborative session to be controlled in a more flexible manner.
The problem is solved by the methods and the apparatuses according to the respective independent patent claims.
In a method for requesting media replication in a collaborative communication session, a message is sent which specifies that a communication medium for a collaborative communication session, which is currently being transmitted to at least one terminal, should additionally be transmitted to at least one other terminal, with the at least one other terminal being indicated in the message as the recipient of the communication medium.
Media replication can also be described by the terms media copying, media modeling or media copy.
An apparatus for requesting media replication in a collaborative communication session has a transmitting unit which is designed to send a message which specifies that a communication medium in a collaborative communication session, which is currently being transmitted to at least one terminal, should additionally be transmitted to at least one other terminal, with the at least one other terminal being indicated in the message as the recipient of the communication medium.
In a method for assigning a communication medium for a collaborative communication session, a message is received which specifies that a communication medium for a collaborative communication session, which is currently being transmitted to at least one terminal, should additionally be transmitted to at least one other terminal, with the at least one other terminal being indicated in the message as the recipient of the communication medium, and the communication medium is assigned to the at least one other terminal as the recipient of the communication medium.
An apparatus for assigning a communication medium for a collaborative communication session has a receiving unit which is configured to receive a message which specifies that a communication medium for a collaborative communication session, which is currently being transmitted to at least one terminal, should additionally be transmitted to at least one other terminal, with the at least one other terminal being indicated in the message as the recipient of the communication medium, and it has an assignment unit, which is designed for assignment of the communication medium to the at least one other terminal as the recipient of the communication medium.
One aspect of the invention can clearly be considered to be that of requesting the media replication by means of a message which specifies a plurality of receivers.
In particular, the invention also has the advantageous effect that it allows media to be replicated to a plurality of appliances in a given collaborative communication session, as well as an IMS collaborative session, thus allowing a specific medium no longer to be received only by a single appliance, which is involved in the collaborative session, but by a plurality of appliances in the collaborative session.
Only one terminal in a collaborative session can receive a medium which is received in the course of the collaborative session. The invention makes it possible to distribute media received in the course of a collaborative session in a more flexible manner between the terminals involved in the collaborative session.
One effect of the invention can clearly be considered to be that of allowing media to be copied in the collaborative communication session, as a result of which the relevant media are received by a plurality of terminals involved in the collaborative communication session.
Further exemplary embodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent patent claims and in the following description. In this case, where applicable, the explanations relating to the methods also relate in the same sense to the apparatuses, and vice versa.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the message is sent by a terminal.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the message is sent by a terminal which is currently not assigned a control role for the collaborative communication session.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the message is received by a server in a communication system, and the communication medium is assigned by a server in the communication system.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the communication medium is copied by a server in the communication system, and the copied communication medium is distributed to the at least one terminal and the at least one other terminal by a server in the communication system.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a server in the communication system produces a direct media connection, which is suitable for transmission of the communication medium, between the at least one other terminal as the recipient of the communication medium and a terminal which sends the communication medium.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the at least one other terminal includes a plurality of terminals, that is to say a plurality of other terminals may occur instead of at least one other terminal, for example two, three, four, five or even more other terminals. The message relating to media replication includes a plurality of other terminals, that is to say it states a plurality of terminals which occur instead of the at least one other terminal, for example two, three, four, five or even more other terminals. This has the advantageous effect that media replication can be requested by means of a single message at more than one additional recipient, specifically for example two or more additional receiving terminals, that is to say a total of more than two terminals that receive the medium. This saves signaling complexity.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the message indicates the at least one terminal as the recipient of the communication medium.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the message is formed on the basis of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and its message type REFER. One aspect of the invention can clearly be considered to be that of the media replication being requested by means of an SIP-REFER message which specifies a plurality of recipients.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the SIP-REFER message specifies all the receivers for which reception of the medium or of the media is requested.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the media to be copied can be identified in an SIP-REFER message with which media replication is requested, for example by means of media identifiers, for example the call identification (call-ID) of the communication session associated with the media, a header field (to-header) which indicates an addressee of the message, a header field (from-header) which indicates a sender of the message, and/or a description based on the Session Description Protocol (SDP). In an SIP message, media can be described in accordance with the SDP in the message body of the SIP message. According to SDP, media can be marked by means of an SDP marking attribute (label attribute), and can thus be identified.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, an SIP-REFER request is sent to a server in the communication system. A server in the communication system matches existing media (media connections, media flows) to the received media identifiers, for example received SDP marking attributes, and sets up appropriate media connections to all the requested recipients. A server in the communication system then receives and copies the media, and distributes them to the recipients. Media replication by means of a server in the communication system has the advantage that, in the case of those terminals which send the media, transmission bandwidth is saved in comparison to the situation in which they had to send multiple copies of the media, thus saving transmission bandwidth overall in the communication system.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a server in the communication system sets up direct media connections between the terminals involved, that is to say in each case between the sending terminal and the various terminals which receive the medium. In this case, the medium is copied by the sending terminal.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the apparatus for requesting media replication is furthermore configured to carry out the method according to one of the exemplary embodiments which relate to the method for requesting media replication.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the apparatus for assignment of a communication medium is furthermore configured to carry out the method according to one of the exemplary embodiments which relate to the method for assigning a communication medium.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the terminal which sends the message is designed for access to a communication system, and the message is sent to a server in the communication system.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the communication system is a communication system designed in accordance with the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to the 3GPP mobile radio standard.